The court said the explosive device was contained inside a green canvas bag with the Chinese characters for revenge written on it and Ji hid the device inside his pants to evade airport security checks.

Wheelchair-bound man sets off explosion

Explosives set off in Beijing airport

At around 6pm local time on July 20, Ji handed out leaflets detailing his grievances outside the exit of terminal 3, the statement said.

He then passed the explosive from hand to hand while police officers tried to persuade him not to detonate the device. Ji’s arm was seriously injured during the explosion and a policeman also sustained injuries.

On his personal blog in 2006, Ji had said he had been attacked and beaten by security guards outside a police station in 2005 after carrying a passenger on his motorcycle. He was paralyzed after the incident and petitioned for official compensation.

The attack took place while Ji was working in Dongguan, a factory town in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

Guangdong provincial authorities said in July that they would look into the alleged unjust treatment, The China Daily reported.

However, the newspaper also reported that Dongguan police said Ji was not attacked and was instead injured when he fell off his motorcycle.

Police in Ji’s home county said Dongguan authorities gave him 100,000 yuan (US$16,290) in compensation in 2010.

In China, people often petition local and national authorities about their grievances.